Public opinion – a stumbling block to enlargement? An analysis of the relation between costs and benefits of eastern enlargement and their perception in current EU member-states

Abstract

The present paper investigates how one factor, the public perception of costs and benefits of enlargement in the current EU member-states might play a role in influencing the form and the content of eastern enlargement. The core of the analysis is focused on the demonstration and explanation of discrepancies between the costs and benefits of eastern enlargement for the EU and their public perception in the current member-states.